Sam Hafertepe Jr. picked up the win with the ASCS Red River region at Tri-State Speedway in Oklahoma
Bryan Hulbert - POCOLA, Okla. (June 4, 2018) Sam Hafertepe, Jr. has not finished outside the top-five in his last seven outings, has six podium finishes to go with it, and added his fifth win of the 2018 season this past Saturday night racing against the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Red River Region presented by Smiley's Racing Products.
Taking in two nights of racing this past weekend in order to shake down his new backup car and engine combination, Sam started the weekend at Red Dirt Raceway in Meeker, Okla. with a runner-up finish to Seth Bergman.
"We tried a lot of different things on Friday. We started out in Hot Laps and didn't feel very good and made some changes. We just felt like we were chasing the car, so we changed bars for the Heat and got a little bit better, but we just still were not where we needed to be, so we changed bars again and we ran okay in the Feature," explained Hafertepe.
Chasing Seth through traffic in the race's mid-point, the top of the track was the fastest way around and didn't allow much room for error. Even with a late-race restart, Sam was unable to mount a charge.
"At one point I felt like we were really making some gains, but I just never was comfortable in the car. The way that place races, it's really round so we never got any kind of wing speed going and we seem to struggle at places like that, so it was actually good that we made the gains we did."
From the quarter-mile in Meeker to the sweeping three-eighths mile Tri-State Speedway in Pocola the following night, Sam was right at home with each race entered topped by the Sunnyvale, Texas racer.
"We were at a point this past weekend where we were testing, and with, I never wanted to go on the track running the same thing twice. The top was the place to be in the Heat Races, but we intentionally stayed off it and ran through the middle and bottom to work on the car and get it working for the feature, and it worked. Even as good as the car was, we went back to the drawing board and changed it again for the main and made a lot of gains."
Up next for Sam and the Hills Racing Team No. 15h is the Lucas Oil ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek which kicks off this weekend at West Texas Raceway in Lubbock and Route 66 Motor Speedway in Amarillo.
"I was ready for Speedweek two weeks ago," state Sam with a chuckle. "Testing out our backup car this past weekend, it doesn't matter that the cars are all made by the same manufacturer, they all have their own attributes, so I wanted to get a feel for that car before it goes up top. We're happy with it and ready to go this weekend. I feel like we're right where we need to be going into Speedweek and then Washington for Dirt Cup."
For continued updates on Sam Hafertepe, Jr. log onto http://www.sam15.com and make sure to find him on Twitter (@samhafertepejr). For news on Hill's Racing Team, log onto https://www.facebook.com/hillsracing/ and on Twitter (@HillsRacingTeam).
2018 Season to Date:
Events: 23; Wins -5 ; Top 5 - 12; Top 10 - 14; Top 15 -16; Top 20 -18;
Coming Up: ASCS Sizzlin' Summer Speedweek
June 8 at West Texas Raceway (Lubbock, Texas)
June 9 at Route 66 Motor Speedway (Amarillo, Texas)
June 12 at Devil's Bowl Speedway (Mesquite, Texas)
June 13 at Lawton Speedway (Lawton, Okla.)
June 14 at Creek County Speedway (Sapulpa, Okla.)
June 16 at Salina Speedway (Salina, Kan.)
Sam Hafertepe, Jr. T-Shirts:
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Sam Hafertepe, Jr. Online:
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The Sponsors:
Hill's Racing Team, Townline Variety, Heidbreder Foundation Service, Fisher Racing Engines, Super Shox, Cool Chassis, Smiley's Racing Products, Hoosier Tire, Huggins Cams, Champion Oil, The Sparks Family, Lonestar Speedway, Keizer Wheels, XYZ Machining, Simpson Racing Products, CP-Carrillo, KSE Power Steering, FK Rod Ends, BMRS, Allstar Performance, Saldana Racing Products, Vortex Wings, DMI, Wilwood Brakes, Kinsler Fuel Injection, Hwy. 79 Collision.